State wants to 'buy Michigan'

Workshops on providing goods, services begin Thursday at LMC.

Workshops on providing goods, services begin Thursday at LMC.

April 12, 2006

LANSING (AP) -- State officials are hitting the road to pitch state government as a source of business for Michigan companies. Starting Thursday, they will hold workshops around Michigan to raise awareness that the state wants to buy more products from Michigan companies. About 85 percent of what the state buys is sold by Michigan businesses. "The state of Michigan is open for business. It is open for everybody," Department of Management and Budget Director Lisa Webb Sharpe said Monday. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm last year ordered state departments to buy from Michigan companies first. A big goal of the two-month-long "Buy Michigan First" tour -- in which local businesses can attend state workshops -- is to boost the percentage of state contracts with Michigan businesses to 90 percent, Webb Sharpe said. Other goals include increasing the number of businesses registering as state vendors and bidding on contracts. Target businesses included small businesses and those owned by minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities. The state also has put every existing state contract online, so businesses know when they expire. The workshops will be held: -- Thursday, Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor, 5 p.m. -- April 20, Mott Community College, Flint, 8 a.m. -- April 25, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, 5 p.m. -- May 9, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, 5 p.m. -- May 10, Bay de Noc Community College, Escanaba, 9 a.m. -- May 10, Alpena Community College, Alpena, 2 p.m. -- May 16, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, 8 a.m. -- May 16, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kalamazoo, noon. -- May 18, Delta College, University Center, 8 a.m. -- May 25, Oakland Community College, Farmington Hills, 8 a.m. -- May 25, Macomb Community College, Warren, noon. -- June 7, Lansing Community College, Lansing, noon. -- June 8, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, 8 a.m. -- June 8, Wayne County Community College, Detroit, 5 p.m.